About this lesson

Exercise files

Quick reference

Creative Ideas - Catalog

A Catalog is a manual of products with corresponding pictures. It uses the same concept to create as the Mail Merge process.

When to use

Creating a catalog mimics a mail merge in that it uses a database of information that you create and can include pictures of products. The final layout is determined by your own particular preferences.

Instructions

Start with a Blank publication, then click “Insert” , Catalog Pages

Click Add List , then choose from the 3 options:

For this exercise, start by selecting “Type a New List”

Enter the base information into the blank database template:

Add or delete columns as needed by clicking the “Customize Columns” button at the bottom of the database screen:

Because Catalogs generally include product photos, the “Picture” field is a common feature in the database, but there is no “Browse” button to click to the picture location.

You will have to find the picture location in the SEARCH section of your computer, then copy/paste the location into the database.

BE SURE to include the picture file type on this line or it won’t work.
i.e.: .JPG or .TIF or .PNG

After you have entered the product data, you will SAVE the database.

If you need to edit anything you will have to select the name of the Data Source, then click EDIT.

The entire ribbon will be active at this point and you can finish the catalog project:

To merge product information into the Catalog pages, click the “Text Field” button and arrange the fields to your preference.

This is a good time to also format the font of the Text Fields.

Be careful not to delete the arrows on either side of the text field or it won’t find the corresponding database entry.

To include a picture with the catalog items, click the “Picture Field” button and place the field to your preference. Note: if pictures do not appear as expected, confirm the database contains the correct file location of each picture as well as the file type extension: .JPG or .TIF or .PNG

To arrange the entire catalog, click the Layout gallery and choose a layout of your preference.

When the fields are all in place, click the “Merge to New” button and review the catalog for any changes or edits, then Print the finished catalog.

00:04This lesson's going to show you how to create a catalog of your products with

00:08pictures.

00:09So we're gonna double-click a blank publication.

00:12Right in here we're gonna go to Insert and click Catalog Pages.

00:17My title page remains single but

00:18as you can see the Catalog Pages look like they're stacked.

00:22I also have a new option right over here that says Catalog Merge Area.

00:26If I click there and zoom in, it basically gives you a definition of what's

00:30gonna happen here, and notice up on top I have a Catalog Tools ribbon.

00:34When I click on Format,

00:35everything is grayed out except the very first option that says Add List.

00:39This is going to be your product list as well as pictures.

00:42When I click that,

00:43I can Type a New one Use an Existing or Choose from Outlook Contacts.

00:47I'll go ahead and type a new one so you can see what happens.

00:50Right here we have Product, Description, ID, Price, Picture.

00:53You can absolutely customize this and maybe I wanna add a new one,

00:57I'd like to put the size in there.

00:59So I hit OK and I could of course move it up or

01:02down and click OK and there we have our new field right there.

01:06So these are database fields.

01:08Now I'm gonna enter in base level information, but

01:10I want to explain to you about the picture part.

01:13So first of all, I'm gonna expand this.

01:15At no point does it give me a browse button so

01:17I can browse my way to the picture.

01:19I actually have to go to my file,

01:22my file system, and surf my way to the pictures from here.

01:28So I have a file I'm sorry, called Japan flowers.

01:33Now I went in through my Windows Explorer system.

01:37I can click on this address bar right here and copy this, but

01:40notice it didn't give me the name of the actual flower.

01:43So this is Japan flowers 1,

01:45I've gotta type that in afterwards along with the file type.

01:49So I'll go ahead and click back here, I'll just paste that,

01:53put a backslash and it was called Japan, spell it correctly,

01:59JapanFlowers1.dot jpg.

02:03If you should forget to put the file type, it will never find that picture.

02:08So it's a little in-depth, it's a little awkward, but

02:12you have to actually go outside of Publisher to go get the file location and

02:18then back into Publisher and paste it and type it.

02:21So, all right, I'm gonna finish filling out my information.

02:26I have the information in here so I'm gonna go ahead and hit OK.

02:29It is going to ask me to save it.

02:31So I'll save it.

02:32I'll name the database, and there it is.

02:34At this point, I can uncheck any particular ones I don't want to include in